I guess I'm happy that Denver's becoming more of a target for conventions of this sort, but watching the business / politics behind it all is a little disheartening.
Inside the Strange Battle for Control Over Denver’s Comic Con Scene | Underwire | WIRED
By any measure the non-profit Denver Comic Con has been a success, but as other independent comics conventions have learned recently, with great power comes great responsibility—and the possibility that others want in on the action.
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I started attending cons back in the 70s, when they were all fan-run non-profit events. I've long been disheartened by the switch to for-profit corporations, and long for the days when stars would sign autographs for free. The focus at any given con is no longer as narrow as it used to be; it seems as if they all are trying to appeal to everybody and include mass media as well as genre guests and panels.
That said, we do see many more celebrities at these big cons. It was great watching the byplay between Jonathon Frakes and Brent Spiner, who are hilarious together.
Positives and negatives, as with most things.
We were in downtown Denver, in Mike’s Camera Shop on the Mall today and Thor walked by. My son said, “Oh, yeah, it’s Comic Con this weekend.”
So we spent much of the next hour or so while walking looking for other superheros. Saw some steam punk get ups, and a lot of getups that looked at first flush like they could be Comic Con-bound, but weren’t.
Pretty bad when you can’t tell the superheros from the local street people.
Holy cow, Dave. Am I in your city for the weekend?
Ed! Why, yes — yes you are! Welcome, hope you’re having a good time, whatever purpose brings you!
(Sorry I missed the comment — things have been busy ’round here.)
I don’t know how far afield from the Convention Center the cosplayers get. Unlike San Diego, where even with giant hotels next to their convention center you end up with people in hotels all through the downtown district, I haven’t gone over to the 16th Street Mall much to see how much spread there is.
Again, hope you enjoyed your stay (or are enjoying), and your travels bring you home safely.